Being Black in a Country That Embraces Blackface for the Holidays

On the day of Nelson Mandela's death, De Telegraaf, a popular Dutch news source, "jokingly" likened the deceased leader to the Netherlands' much-loved winter holiday character Zwarte Piet. So did prominent socialist politician John de Laet. If you're not familiar with Zwarte Piet, allow me to give you a brief rundown: Each year, on December 5, Dutch families partake in the celebration of Sinterklaas. The holiday, which is a festive celebration for Saint Nicholas (a Santa Claus-like figure), involves the handing out of presents by a jovial Sinterklaas and his clownish "helper," Zwarte Piet (literal translation: Black Pete). The punch line: A white person in blackface wearing painted-on full lips and a picked-out afro typically plays Zwarte Piet. De Telegraafapologized for the gaffe and offered: "This teaches us that it is never prudent to make jokes about sensitive and sad subjects while we are doing our journalistic work." Laet eventually resigned after calling Mandela "the chief Piet" on Twitter, but not before saying that his comment was taken out of context because it was meant to be "sarcastic." If Nelson Mandela can be diminished to a racist black stereotype, what hope do the rest of us have?

I should mention here that I'm black American. When I first arrived to Amsterdam a few months ago, I went into a deli with my Dutch boyfriend and the entire place was covered in Zwarte Piet imagery. I stood there for a minute and then walked outside and cried. It was the first time I had come in contact with it and I couldn't believe that it was actually real. It's on candy and wrapping paper. There are posters plastered through the Netherlands and kids dress up as Zwarte Piet for Sinterklaas plays. How could people be okay with this? How could they not think it was racist? I felt unwelcome.

It felt surreal to have conversations with Dutch people about the dehumanizing representation of blackness in images such as Zwarte Piet. I've been given a list of reasons for Pete's skin color—he isn't black but rather he fell down a chimney!— but none of it quite works. When someone falls down a chimney, he may be covered in dark soot, but he doesn't usually emerge sporting an afro.

Still, there is is a small but growing movement against Zwarte Piet. In 2011, St. Maarten-raised activist Quinsy Gario was arrested for public disturbance after wearing a T-shirt printed with the slogan, 'Zwarte Piet is Racisme' (Black Pete is Racist). The incident inspired him to launch a movement of the same name. Around the same time, Shantrelle P. Lewis, a New York-based curator of African American art, witnessed Zwarte Piet firsthand while living abroad in Amsterdam. After learning of Gario's efforts, she felt compelled to bring the issue to an even larger audience. "I decided to use Zwarte Piet as an entry point to conceptualize race, black representation, and white supremacy in the Netherlands," the 35-year-old said of her forthcoming documentary on the topic, which begins filming in spring. "White people in blackface was not and is not okay—not for Halloween, not for models, and not for the Dutch celebration of Sinterklaas."

Though Piet supporters refuse the term "blackface"—they argue that the Vaudevillian context is American not Dutch—you'd be hard pressed to find a local without an opinion. This October, a "Pietitie" (a pro-Piet petition) on Facebook was "liked" by 2.1 million people—an extraordinary amount of support from a country with almost 17 million residents. And though there has been a modest effort to recolor Black Pete—organizers for a Bonte Pieten (rainbow-colored Pete) parade received death threats this year—let's be honest: You can't paint over history.

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